Miyaji: Midorima, you went and switched up the practice menu on your own again, didn’t you?

Midorima: The coach gave me permission to do so.

Miyaji: That ain’t the problem here!

Kimura: When you screw around like that, it throws off our teamwork!

Midorima: “Screw around”? “Throws off our teamwork”? Excuse me, but I believe it is the two of you who aren’t taking basketball seriously.

Miyaji: What?!

Midorima: Are you trying to say that we can win if everyone just plays nicely and practices together? If that’s what you believe, then I can’t help but think that you’re the ones who aren’t taking this seriously.

Miyaji: No, that’s not really what I meant…

Midorima: In order to win, I always pursue the best course of action. That’s what it means to do everything in one’s power. No matter what the ideal, it’s meaningless unless we win.

Miyaji: So you’re saying that you changed the practice menu in order to win?

Midorima: Of course.

Miyaji: This guy’s for real!

Kimura: Dammit. “To win”… When he puts it like that, there’s not much else we can say.

Ootsubo: He’s got you there, Miyaji, Kimura.

Miyaji: Oh, Captain. You heard all that?

Ootsubo: Midorima might not fit the mold, since he does and says whatever he likes, but he also gets results.

Miyaji: Still, though, even if it’s all for the sake of winning, if he just does whatever he wants… Are you planning to just give him a free pass whenever he feels like it?

Kimura: He’s setting a bad example for the other players!

Ootsubo: That’s another good point… In that case, let’s make a rule. So long as the coach is okay with it, then…when it comes to the stuff related to practice, like the practice menu…let’s see…we’ll grant Midorima three willful requests per day. Well, Midorima? What do you think of that rule?

Midorima: Three sounds like too few, but… Alright, I accept. You should know that I will use those three requests as I see fit. In order to win. Now, if you’ll excuse me. [walks away]

Miyaji: I wonder if…that settled it?

Ootsubo: If we can’t stop him from doing as he pleases, then it’s best to at least give him a limit. I don’t think the coach will disagree.

[end flashback]

– –

Takao: …and that’s how the three requests rule came to be.

Koganei: I’m amazed you needed to make a rule like that in the first place.

Koganei: And that just took all the wind out of my sails~! Is this team really gonna be alright…?

Hyuuga: Come on, let’s make some noise!

[game begins]

Furihata: Watch out! The senpai are headed your way!

Kagami: I’m up against Kiyoshi-senpai and Mitobe-senpai? Guess it’s time for a pass. Kuroko! [passes to Kuroko]

Kuroko: Got it. Fukuda-kun! [passes to Fukuda]

Fukuda: Here comes a pass from Kuroko. ‘Kay, now to line up my shot…

Izuki: No, you don’t. I knew that pass was coming. [blocks Fukuda’s shot]

Fukuda: Crap! He blocked it!

[ball bounces out of bounds]

Kuroko: That was careless of me, since senpai has the eagle eye.

Izuki: It might not be quite as effective as Shuutoku’s Takao’s…but I still have a pretty good view of the court. [dribbles the ball] Alright, next one’s ours! It’s up to you, Mitobe! [passes to Mitobe]

Mitobe: …

Kagami: Oh, crap! We’ve gotta stop Mitobe-senpai!

Furihata: I’m the only one close enough! I’ll stop him!

Mitobe: … [breaks past Furihata and scores with a layup]

Furihata: Dammit! He broke past me—!!

Izuki: Nice shot, Mitobe!

Mitobe: …

Fukuda: I won’t let you take another shot!

Mitobe: [takes a shot] …!!

Izuki: Darn it! It’s a little short!!

[ball bounces off the rim]

Fukuda: Yeaaah—!

Kuroko: You can celebrate later. Right now, we need to get the rebound…

Kiyoshi: [gets the rebound] Sorry ‘bout that. [dunks the ball]

Kagami: Shit… This is rough. And here we were talking about getting a huge lead on them…

Koganei: Hey, we’re pretty awesome, don’t ya think? I never thought we’d be able to do this well against Kagami and the other freshmen.

Tsuchida: Maybe, but Kiyoshi, Izuki, and Mitobe are the ones doing most of the work.

Izuki: Well, we’ve all been practicing our hearts out, after all.

Kiyoshi: Yeah, but it’s not just Kagami and Kuroko. The other freshmen are putting on the pressure, too.

Koganei: Still, we’ve made it this far, so aren’t we practically guaranteed to win?

Kiyoshi: If we keep this up and run the clock, then by all accounts, we should win…

Kagami: Shit—! We can hear you, you know!!

Hyuuga: …damn it! Every single one of ‘em… You dumbasses! Even if you’re winning, you can’t let up ‘til the very end! We haven’t given up yet! Ain’t that right?!

Kagami: Yeah! We ain’t gonna take this lying down, so don’t you think it’s a little early to be celebrating?!

Izuki: You’re right… Sorry!

Koganei: We can’t back off just ‘cause we’re winning! That’s not our team’s style!

Kiyoshi: Yep! Full speed ahead to the very end!

Kiyoshi’s Team: Yeah!

Hyuuga: Looks like they’re finally ready to take this seriously. Let’s give it all we’ve got!

Hyuuga’s Team: Yeah!

Kiyoshi: Let’s go! Let’s enjoy every last second!

Riko: That’s Hyuuga-kun for you. Thanks to him, both teams are totally pumped. Keep fighting ‘til the very end and give it your absolute best! That’s Seirin’s brand of basketball!